Carpal Tunnel relief is easy with Active Release
These days, carpal tunnel doesn’t have to mean surgery! Using a treatment called Active Release Techniques (ART), Dr. McGahey is able to offer a different approach to relieving carpal tunnel syndrome. In fact, ART has been shown to have a success rate of over 90%!
Active Release, when combined with chiropractic treatment, can give dramatic relief of carpal tunnel syndrome, even when other treatment methods have failed. Most of Dr. McGahey’s patients start to feel relief in just a few short visits. So if your current treatment isn’t working, give us a call!
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – What Is It Exactly?
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) when a nerve that runs down your forearm, the median nerve, becomes pinched. This nerve helps provide sensation to your hand, and helps the fingers move. When it becomes pinched, this can cause pain, numbness, tingling and weakness in the wrist and hand. It can also cause pain in the forearm.
But not all wrist pain is carpal tunnel syndrome. Some wrist and arm pain can come from your neck, from a pinched nerve or a disc. It may also be from resting your forearm on your desk when you type. This irritates the median nerve as well, but in the forearm and not the wrist. And while the symptoms are the same in all cases, the treatment is completely different (more on that later).
Carpal Tunnel Causes – Computers And More
Anyone who uses their hands for a living can develop carpal tunnel syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a repetitive strain injury. That means repetitive movement involving the hands and wrists can cause carpal tunnel syndrome. The most common cause is typing, but texting is gaining ground. The same goes for playing video games, sewing, gardening and assembly work.
Over months or years these repetitive movements cause injury to the joints and muscles of the forearm and wrist. If enough scar tissue builds up, it can pinch your nerves and cause carpal tunnel symptoms.
This pinching can occur at the wrist, but can happen in the forearm as well. Especially in people who rest their arms on the edge of their desks. The forearms are rarely addressed in treatment, which may explain why conventional treatment doesn’t work very well.
What Are The Symptoms Of Carpal Tunnel?
Carpal tunnel symptoms include numbness, tingling, burning and pain in the hands and fingers. They are often present when working with your hands. Aching may also occur in your forearm from your elbows to your wrists. Symptoms often disappear when activity is discontinued, but may become constant over time. They may even wake you from sleep at night.
As carpal tunnel symptoms worsen, weakness may develop in your hands. This can cause a weak grip and a lack of coordination when using your fingers. In more chronic cases the muscles of the thumbs may waste away, a condition called atrophy.
Why Carpal Tunnel Treatment May Not Work
Most treatments for carpal tunnel involve braces, casts, night splints, rest and medication. But they don’t address the cause of the problem. In fact, wrist braces may actually make your condition worse. To be effective, treatment should address the muscles and joints of both the wrist and forearm.
Active Release has a success rate of over 90% because it does just that. It addresses all components of carpal tunnel syndrome: muscles, tendons, fascia and nerves. When combined with Chiropractic, it can help eliminate pain and symptoms in a short period of time.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – Prevention Is Key
Carpal Tunnel is easier to prevent than treat
It’s a lot easier to avoid carpal tunnel than to treat it. But if you do have carpal tunnel, you need to have a good game plan. That means effectively treating it, and then having a sound strategy to keep it from coming back.
That strategy may includes proper wrist and forearm stretching and exercise. If you use a keyboard, things like a sit/stand desk, vertical mouse, wrist cushion, and adjusting your keyboard height can help. It all depends on your job and work space.
Ready To Feel Better?
If you’re having pain, numbness or tingling in your forearms, wrists or hands, don’t ignore it. Dr. McGahey can help create a strategy to get out of pain fast, and keep you that way once you’re done with treatment.
Get Help Now!
So what are you waiting for? Just call or click today to schedule an appointment with Dr. McGahey. You’ll be glad you did!